The Kirks(rewritten, all chaps updated)
by iffiness
Summary: So maybe jumping into a black hole to chase after Ambassador Spock wasn't Bryn Kirk's best idea. She definitely didn't expect to fall out of said hole directly in front of her great-great grandfather, James T. Kirk, and his two best friends, Doctor McCoy and Spock, but... well, desperate times call for desperate measures. But when the fate of her galaxy is on her shoulders, well...
1. Chapter 1

_**Space: The Final Frontier…**_

A hooded and cloaked figure ran through the ornate hallway, hugging a black bag tightly to his chest.

_**These are the voyages of the starship **_**Enterprise**…

The figure ducked behind a corner, keeping in the shadows as he tried to catch his breath. He leaned his head back against the wall, his hood falling back to reveal cerulean eyes and a grinning mouth.

_**Her ongoing mission:...**_

Something within his pocket beeped as he heard alarmed shouts in a foreign language from the hall he just ran from. Exhaling quickly, still grinning, the man with bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair pulled out a small communicator from his pocket and took off running again.

_**To explore strange new worlds…**_

"This is Kirk," the man chirped off into the device, glancing behind him to see the strange aliens native to this world turning the same corner he had previously.

"Damn it, man!" a gruff, Southern accented voice replied, causing Kirk to grin even wider. "We were supposed to rendezvous two hours ago!"

_**To seek out new life forms and new civilizations...**_

"Relax, Bones," Kirk responded affably, pushing himself to run even faster as he heard the first sounds of a spear ricocheting off of a pillar to his right. "I'm on my way now."

"Captain, are you being pursued?" a new voice came over the communicator, stricter in its manner of speaking, in a more proper fashion.

_**To boldly go where no one has gone...**_

"Sorta. Does it matter, Mr. Spock?" the blue eyed man asked the new voice, ducking around a new corner and letting out a breath of relief as he saw the outside world again through an open arch.

"We were not supposed to become involved with the natives, Captain. It is per…" Spock began, only to be cut off by Kirk.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kirk ran out onto the landing, taking the steps towards the ground in leaps of threes as he went. "I'm en route to our rendezvous, just gimme a second to-"

_**Before.**_

Kirk was stopped mid-sentence as he stared at what was happening before him, completely surprised. His feet also stopped taking him in the direction he was running, gluing him to the place he was standing as if he were on quick drying cement. In front of him, much to his disdain, was a sight that he was unfortunately familiar with. Although it was much smaller than what he had seen before, it was undeniably the same.

A small, swirling black hole floated thirty feet before him, lightning coming off of it in leaps and bounds. How he hadn't been pulled into it, let alone the planet he was on, baffled him… yet there it was.

"Captain, is everything alright?" he heard Spock ask over the communicator, but he was too preoccupied processing what was occurring in front of him. An anomaly like this was reported both when the Romulan Nero and Ambassador Spock came through time from the future, so many years ago. Seeing it again here, like this, could be potentially disastrous.

"We have a situation," Kirk calmly responded into the communicator, taking a few steps back. He could hear the natives behind him, but they had all stopped their pursuit of him in order to cower in fear of what he knew was a black hole.

"Our readings indicate there there is…"

"A black hole? Freak lightning storm? Yeah, definitely."

"Damn it, Jim, we're on our way now," McCoy was back on the comm.

"The black hole is making it difficult to get a reading on you for transport," Spock provided, "We are on our way with a shuttle now."

"Yeah, thanks guys," Kirk responded distractedly, his brows furrowing as he tried to figure out why this was happening. They had thought the strange readings from the planet were from the ejected engine core the natives had found when it fell in their atmosphere, which is what Jim had in his duffel now, but this… this made more sense.

But then, as quickly as it appeared, it spat something out of it before closing up on itself again in a blinding flash of light. In his peripheral Jim could hear the natives scampering away from the entire scene, as a normal person should… but he found himself drawn closer to whatever the black hole had done. He was an explorer, after all. It was just first nature to him. His vision was quickly clearing as he approached, the bright lights fading with each blink, and he could make out the form of something of a medium size laying on the ground not far from him…

"Jim!" The shuttle with his away party had shown up, and Bones and Spock were making their way towards him quickly. They had just missed the black hole event, but they were still concerned of the safety of their captain. Jim Kirk wasn't always known to be the most safe when he was by himself…

Kirk ignored them as he moved forward, the last of the white blinking out of his eyes as he tried to make sense of what was on the ground before him. And then… he heard a cough. A feminine sounding cough, and the lump before him started to move, sitting upright on the ground.

It was a woman. She had a full head of black hair, cut short into a style he remembered being called "pixie" (though he had no idea why, and to be frank, women were weird about stuff like that anyway), and she blinked up at him wearily with vibrant brown eyes.

"That went better than I thought it would," she spoke up, sounding almost in disbelief, pushing herself onto her feet as Jim stopped not far from her. "I told them jumping into a black hole couldn't possibly go wrong." Now she just sounded cocky, although sarcastic. She was tall, only a couple of inches shorter than him, but it was her clothes that stumped him. She had black slacks on, standard issue, but her shirt… it bore the Starfleet insignia on the left side of the chest, was command gold, but the design was strangely flattering for a woman, and the neck pulled into a V at the right side of her chest. It was unlike any Starfleet uniform he had ever seen before. But it was also similar in that the long sleeves held three distinct stripes at the wrists.

It was then that she seemed to notice her audience, looking them over with furrowed eyebrows. "Uh… Hi?" she said, almost asking, a bit awkwardly. She was taking in their appearances just as they had hers. But then her eyes wandered behind them, widening slightly as she saw the natives appearing again out of the temple and still armed with spears. "Those friends of yours?"

Jim took the chance to glance behind them, grimacing as he remembered the very angry natives that were bent on killing him because he had stolen something from them. "Ah… not exactly," he responded, deciding to keep to the light banter she had apparently decided to begin. "Need a ride?" he asked, turning to her and raising an eyebrow suggestively and nodding towards the shuttle nearby.

"Damn it, Jim," Bones spoke up from beside of him, making both Jim and the newcomer turn their bright, energetic eyes to him. It would've made him shiver if he paused to think about how weirdly similar the twinkle in their eyes was. "You can't just pick up whatever random, attractive woman falls out of a black hole."

"Lighten up, Bones," Jim grinned at him, glancing back at the natives who were being unusually quiet in their approach. "She's one of us. Right?"

"Assuming," she spoke up, taking a step towards them and giving them another look, "That your calling him Jim," she pointed from Bones to Jim, "and your calling him Bones," she pointed back from Jim to Bones, "means that you're in Starfleet, flying on the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701," she looked to Spock now, raising an eyebrow at him in a very Vulcan like manner, "and I'd say you are, considering this Vulcan looks a whole lot like Spock, then yes. Definitely friendly."

Jim's thick eyebrows were raised in interest at how much she knew about them, knowing that both Spock and Bones were thinking similarly. "You certainly have us at a disadvantage, Ms…"

"Captain," she corrected with a warm smile, holding a hand out for him to shake. "Captain Brynnigan Tiberia Kirk. Both your namesake and, I believe, if my sense of where I am is correct, your… great-great granddaughter."

"Oh, dear god," Bones murmured, pinching the bridge of his nose in disbelief. When the hell were they going to just have a normal away mission.

Spock, on the other hand, although increasingly curious about the woman claiming to be distantly related to Jim, was keeping a wary eye on the natives. They had been unusually still and quiet while watching them converse. "Captain, I am unsure as to why the natives have yet to attack."

Jim had accepted her handshake before she finished introducing herself, and was now stuck midway through it and staring at her incredulously. Sure, he had noticed that she was exceptionally attractive before, like himself (because really, he loved himself). Now? Jesus. He could use a drink. He was just glad when Spock spoke up, breaking him out of the stupor he had fallen into and making him glance back at the natives. "Noted. Maybe they don't want to kill us anymore."

"Like that's ever the case," Bryn spoke up, taking a step to the side to be able to see them past the three men in front of her. Only… the eyes of the natives all followed her. One had even fallen to its knees and placed itself flat against the ground, almost as if it were praying to her. "I… don't like the way they're looking at me."

"Neither do I," Jim agreed, grabbing onto her arm to start directing her towards the shuttle and keeping himself between her and the natives. "Let's get the hell out of here. We can discuss… whatever this is on the ship."

Bryn gently removed her arm out of his grip and instead just walked alongside of him, raising an eyebrow back at him in challenge as he glanced at her. Bones and Spock were following along behind of them. Each of them were silently reflecting on the idea that this strange woman, who came out of a black hole, could be related to Jim. Bones could hardly believe it as he watched the two captains in front of him, who walked with the same gait, the same cocky attitude, the same facial expressions… christ, it was like there were two Jims in front of him. And he thought having one was bad enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:****_ This is a bit of a flashback/history chapter._**

If there was anything that could ever be said about Captain James Tiberius Kirk it was that he always, inevitably, attracted trouble.

The same could be said for his great-great granddaughter.

Brynnigan Tiberia Kirk was, since she first opened her eyes after coming out of her mother's womb, expected to do great things. It had been the one and only time she had met her great-great grandfather and namesake, only a few days old. It was when she met Spock, who held her to a ridiculous standard even so young. It was when her destiny was decided, written in the stars; it was when her life became so much larger.

Of course, that wouldn't make sense to her for a very long time, if it ever did at all. She spent the first two years of her life as a normal baby, cooing and being coddled. By her third year she was on her first starship and capable of holding coherent conversation. Her fourth? She was becoming a nuisance to her parents; apparently a child taking apart several household appliances in a closet was unsafe. By her fifth year they had her sent to Vulcan, to study as the children there did, in hopes that her growing curiosity could be satiated. They would never admit that it was to be rid of her.

On Vulcan she lived with an old family friend: Spock. Only now, instead of the first officer of her great-great grandfather, he was an ambassador. He had, apparently, more than ample practice at handling a Kirk child. His stories about her grandfather always had her laughing, and he would do that thing with his eyebrows, which she had spent a very long time trying to replicate. There were times that he would tell her that history has a way of repeating itself, about destinies… But, as her grandfather would have, she was growing bored. The combination of being teased by the emotionless Vulcan children (whereas she possibly reacted mostly with emotions, being ruled by her gut or heart more often than her mind), the lessons at the academy becoming further and further behind her as she taught herself outside of classes, and the ever present pressure of thousands of eyes on her, waiting to see what she did with her life…

Well, she was pretty damn tired of it by the time she was thirteen. There wasn't much a pioneering, curious, trouble making thirteen year old human could do on a planet like Vulcan. Of course, it wasn't until after she accidentally destroyed a three hundred year old artifact that she realized she hated it there. She had done it very creatively, she was proud of how she had managed to get past all of the security measures to put a small cherry bomb in the old case… but not everyone was as impressed. Ambassador Spock, if he was anything other than disappointed, was understanding, even if he wasn't allowed to express these emotions publically. He had noticed her growing boredom, but just as he had with her grandfather, he had no idea how to quell it. It was something that he knew to be deeply imbedded in their souls, a certain wanderlust, that would well within them until it was too much… And, just as he knew that, he knew he would be nearly powerless to stop her when she smuggled herself off planet. Several years passed, and she was completely gone. He had tried finding her, he still was trying… but she was good, too much like her grandfather. She was intelligent, creative, making for a highly potent combination of unpredictability.

When she finally resurfaced, she was nearly twenty-two years old. When he received the transmissions from Earth he was both relieved and surprised, taking the first ship out the following morning (as he had, for some unknown reason, become attached to her; he felt it had something to do with the Kirks; after all, his old friend had a certain gravity to him). She never spoke much about where she had been, what she had been doing, or anything of those years she was gone… but she was different from when she was a child on Vulcan, in his care. She was more experienced, more rounded out… but very much still a child. She had grown up in some ways, and in others she hadn't. She had refused to go back with him to Vulcan, to receive any help, or to do much of anything. When he got word that she had joined Starfleet less than a year later, he was pleasantly surprised, although she still refused to answer any of his messages. He kept up with her studies and reports of her activities through his contacts there, ensuring she was doing well, even though he had no doubt she would be. The fact she had decided to go into the engineering track was a surprise to him, but he wouldn't speak against it. It was another six months until she spoke to him.

They were erecting a monument to the original crew of the Enterprise, of which he was one of the few willing to attend the ceremony. He had arrived early that morning, in anticipation of meeting up with his old friends, now Admirals McCoy and Chekhov. Older they may be, but not much had changed the dynamics between them. They spent many hours catching up, reminiscing, before they were required on the stage near the tarp-covered monument. The crowd was a mixture of dress grays nearer the stage and civilian style the further back it got, and their quiet murmurs were hard to miss as he, McCoy, and Chekhov took their seats. And then, off to the side of the stage, still hidden behind one of the longer curtains, he heard a voice he hadn't in months.

"Jules, no," Bryn was adamantly refusing being pushed out onto the stage, her heels dug into the wooden floors as a shorter woman tried pushing her over the threshold. She was in her dress grays, although her hat was held under her arm instead of upon her head. "I told you I'd show up. I never said anything about getting out on the stage."

"Yeah, well, you see that pretty chair over there?" the smaller, blonde woman asked, her brown eyes glaring dangerously up at Bryn. "That chair had better have you on it within the next five minutes, or I swear to god, I will hypo you so hard you won't even know your name for a week."

"What, again? You could always just buy me a drink, it's much easier that way," Bryn grinned down at her, her deep brown eyes twinkling with mischief as the older, blonde doctor pulled away from her, pulling a hypo out of a bag at her hip.

"You. Chair. Ten seconds." The woman's, whom Spock would later be able to name as Julia Vi, M.D., voice was vicious as she readied it, holding it up towards Bryn's neck in a very threatening manner.

Bryn eyed her warily, her lips pursed as her brows furrowed, weighing the actual seriousness of her companion.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven…" Vi began counting, taking a step towards her as Bryn took a step back.

By now, this had the attention of all three of the men already seated on the stage. McCoy was wearing a grin that was full of pride as he watched the tall, obviously Kirk (after all, a fear of hyposprays as fervent as the one of his late friend would only be doing itself justice by being genetic), woman being bullied by a smaller, obviously a doctor, woman. Chekhov was watching on with a smile of his own, and Spock was watching with a raised eyebrow. It appeared that, in some ways, history truly did repeat itself.

"Four. Three. Two…" Vi took a second step towards her, the hypo raising up higher until it was level with Bryn's neck.

"Okay! Okay!" Bryn finally submitted, holding her hands up in her defense as she ducked the swing of Vi's arm. "Jesus, you crazy bitch. I'm going."

"You don't even know the half of it," Vi bit back, both of her eyebrows raised as she waited for Bryn to walk out onto the stage. "And for chrissakes, put your hat on. It's protocol."

Bryn wriggled her eyebrows at her, both manicured in a truly sophisticated manner, and grinned as she turned and walked onto the stage, her hat still firmly tucked under her left arm. She stopped just short of where Spock, McCoy, and Chekhov were seated, offering them a firm salute, as she was required to. The murmur of the crowd had ceased at her appearance, which caused her no short amount of awkward feelings, and the only noises were of cameras and flashing. The two admirals and the ambassador stood in return, offering their own, albeit much shorter, salutes before all of them took more relaxed poses.

"I don't believe we've met," McCoy was the first to speak, his southern drawl still prominent after many years, holding his hand out for Bryn to shake. "Doctor Leonard McCoy."

"Yeah, I figured," Bryn responded, shaking his hand with a stiff smile. "And you're Pavel Chekhov, and I know who you are," she glanced between the other two. It wasn't hard to see how completely unused to dealing with things like this she was. And, much like her namesake, protocol just wasn't something she felt like she had to comply with. Luckily for her they were all very used to that. But then her attention was caught by McCoy's chest, where a red laser dot had situated itself… Her brows furrowed before she came to a split-second decision.

"Move!" she barked out at them, tugging Mccoy to the side as the shot was fired and ushering the other two towards the same entrance she had just come from. It was chaos after that. The crowd was in a panic, but the world slowed down for Bryn. She got the ambassador and the admirals into the arms of other Starfleet officers before running back out onto the stage, looking around for the shooter… and then she gave chase.

That was just the first of her more publicised tests of valor. She saved lives, caught the bad guy, did the whole shebang… and was compared to her grandfather in every single news story for the next two months. But she was also, in that time, convinced by several of her peers and McCoy and Spock to go into the command path. She refused to give up on the engineering path though, so she ended up doing both it and the command path at the same time… and graduated from them both.

She didn't come into captaincy as soon as she graduated, no matter how much she wanted it. She floated around ships in several different positions for a couple of years, until she was first officer aboard a vessel that was attacked by a Romulan vessel. Aboard the vessel was a Romulan by the name of Keras. Keras was the grandson of Gaius, who was the son of the first Keras, and apparently it was just one entire family line of "let's fuck up the Kirks to avenge ourselves" or something. In other words, her grandfather's schemes and lineage once again caused an issue for her, and would continue to for years after that. Of course, it goes without saying that she made some of her own enemies in her adventures.

When she was made captain of a ship, at age 28, in 2399, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. She was young, a lot of people thought she was untried or immature, and the consensus was she was given the ship simply because of her name. It wasn't the _Enterprise._ She was made captain of the _USS Atrium_. Her ship was in the same class as the _Enterprise_, but it was different enough to not make as many heads roll. Besides, the _Enterprise_ was already being captained by someone else. Not long after being made captain, a true threat to the entirety of planet Earth showed its face… Khan Noonien Singh. Perhaps her great-great grandfather's most dangerous adversary, Khan made it known that he was back in action with a bang. Literally. He planted and subsequently blew up a bomb in an archives building in Los Angeles. After the apprehension of Khan, it was no longer doubted that her position was one she deserved. And, from then on, she was given a five year mission of her own… and began making her own friends and enemies. Although, in some ways, she was still living under the shadow of her legendary great-great grandfather.


	3. Chapter 3

"So," the tense silence in the shuttle as it took off towards the atmosphere was broken by none other than Jim Kirk, who had taken the seat opposite of the other supposedly Kirk occupant. "Great-great granddaughter, huh?" He was watching her intently, as was Spock, who had sat on his left, and McCoy, who sat on his right. Hikaru Sulu, in the pilot's seat, was glancing back at them all when he had the chance, completely out of the loop.

"On my father's side," she nodded her affirmation, looking around the shuttle curiously. It was very old school, to her. "And my grandfather. I'm the first girl."

"The black hair from your mom, then?" Jim asked affably, relaxing back into his seat.

Bryn's eyes turned to him and raised an eyebrow, in a more Vulcan than human manner. It was something she had taken time to perfect over her years on Vulcan. She appreciated and admired how normal he was keeping the tone of the conversation. She could tell McCoy was having a hard time just coming to terms with the idea. "Her hair was brown," she told him, crossing her arms as she leaned back. "Not really sure where the black came from, but it suits me. People like the dark and mysterious thing."

"Okay, Jesus, could you being taking this any less seriously?" McCoy snapped at them, mostly Jim, his dark brown eyes turned onto him as Jim glanced at him. "She pops out of a black hole, for chrissakes, claims to be your great-whatever granddaughter, and you're just gonna ask about her hair?"

"The Doctor does indeed have a point," Spock spoke up for the first time, though his eyes had yet to stray from Bryn. "It is standard protocol to detain a person in this situation, for both health and safety reasons."

McCoy leaned around Jim to gawk at Spock before shaking his head, leaning back and looking across at Bryn. "As much as it hurts to agree with Spock, he's right. If she's from the future or whatever, she could have some disease we don't have a cure for."

Bryn had been watching them all silently, with interest, as they spoke, a small smile forming. She had seen Spock and McCoy act like this in the future. It was interesting to see it was a dynamic they always had. "Doctor McCoy," she spoke up, leaning forward and locking her playfully dark eyes with his, "It's more likely you'll be giving me a disease, don't you think? If there's a disease that's totally eradicated by my time, yet still rampant here, it stands to reason I would be susceptible."

"Don't do that," McCoy frowned at her grumpily, crossing his arms and leaning back. It was times like this that made him wish he had just stayed on Earth. He couldn't deny that the intellect was similar to his friend, and there were certain physical aspects near identical to Kirk's. Hell, he had spent years with the man, practically raised the damn kid, as far as he was concerned; he knew his looks better than his own now. And apparently, his granddaughter shared not only the same physical attributes, but the same damned way of combatting his innate paranoia. "It's bad enough when Jim does it."

Jim grinned and slapped his friend playfully on the shoulder, leaning forward on his knees like Bryn had. "Bones is a sucker for the eyes," he told her conspiratorially, causing her to grin back at him and McCoy to groan. "But they do have a point, you know. I'm supposed to have you detained by now."

"I never heard stories of you playing it by the book before," her grin became more of a smirk as she watched him, their eyes locked as they got a feel for each other. "Besides, if it helps, I could always just tell you my mission. Of course, just jumping into a black hole wasn't exactly in the fine print."

"That could work," he nodded, ignoring the unbelieving looks he knew he was getting from his friends. Hell, he was fairly surprised with himself, too. He'd never been much of one for the whole trusting thing. "I'm pretty surprised you weren't just torn apart by the black hole, honestly."

Bryn nodded, agreeing with him completely. "Yeah, that was always a possibility. Turns out, when you're manufacturing your own black hole, you get a bit of leeway in how potent it is. I had it down to about an 83.428% chance that it was just going to shred me apart during unprotected travel. Also, when making one that small, it tends to dissipate pretty quickly… so I just sort of jumped in it anyway."

"You were able to create and control a black hole?" Spock was now interested in the conversation, and when he spoke up the two Kirks turned to appraise him. It was, to his human side, slightly unnerving to see someone who looked so much like his captain and yet still so different.

"Yeah, sort of," Bryn smiled at him, having expected him to be the one to ask that. "You see, a sun was going supernova near Romulus, so they sent Ambassador Spock, you in the future, congrats on the promotion, to create a black hole to reverse th-..."

"We actually know that," Jim spoke up, the Kirks turning their attention back to each other. "He came out here, with some nasty Romulan by the name of Nero."

"So Ambassador Spock is alive?" she asked him, smiling widely in relief when Jim nodded. "That's great. It's why I'm here. Myself and my ship were tasked with discovering what came of Romulus when we received no word back from Ambassador Spock. By the time we got there, it was way too late. The sun had already gone, and there were remnants huge black hole that I assume was his attempt to reverse it before it got any worse. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any sign of life in the sector, and were left to assume that the black hole got him, so I made a new one and jumped in."

"So you just made a black hole, on a theory, and jumped in," McCoy repeated, paraphrasing it to try and make sense to himself. The day he met a Kirk that wasn't batshit insane would be the day hell froze over.

"Yeah, basically," she answered, even though she knew it was a rhetorical question. "I'm sure you're gonna pretty pissed with me. Well, I mean, not you-you, but future-you. You're the admiral who apparently drew the short straw and was left having me report to you."

McCoy shook his head, his brows wrinkled in frustration. "Great," he murmured to none of them in particular, "so not only do I have to deal with one crazy ass, blue-eyed idiot by the name of Kirk in my lifetime, but also a brown-eyed one just as insane. That's just great."


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh, c'mon, I thought we had all gotten past the suspicious stage." Bryn was sat upon one of the biobeds of the room, next to Jim, and both wore similarly exasperated expression for the CMO.

The whining coming from the female Kirk was, in McCoy's opinion, annoying. But compared to Jim, it was tolerable.

"Bones, really, this is so unnecessary. We've had weirder stuff happen to us before. You really don't need to run a blood test." Jim was trying to, and failing with, using logic to get out of the situation. "Just look at us, we're two peas in a pod." He and his granddaughter both tried to give the doctor their best smiles, obviously trying to look more similar in hopes of avoiding the needles. If it wasn't for the few differences in color (e.g., her black hair and brown eyes, or slightly more olive-toned skin), he'd almost believe them. Almost.

Honestly, it was surprising that both of them were so averse to him doing it. He was hoping that maybe, just maybe, Bryn had more sense than Jim. He could feel a headache growing already, the kind that could only be remedied by a large class of bourbon. "Shutup, both of you," he finally snapped, grabbing Jim's wrist and tugging his arm out to insert the device that'll take a sample of his blood. As he expected, Jim's whining of his rough bedside manner followed shortly after he was done, and Bryn was even more wary of him. "Arm. Now." He held his hand out expectantly, giving her the same stare he gave Jim when the man wouldn't let him do something. Really, they were children. No, worse. He never had to spend so much time coercing a child to do something. At least he could bribe children with candy.

After a short hesitance, he finally had her sample drawn as well and was making his way back over to one of his microscopes, grumbling the entire way. He could hear the two of them whispering about him, loudly, across the room, but he chose to ignore it and not rise to the bait. His teasing with Jim was a normal thing for them, but now that Jim had a kindred spirit with the same bright eyes? He wasn't sure he was ready to have to take on two of them.

"I used to wonder if he was always so grumpy or if it was just me," Bryn whispered to Jim, glancing away from McCoy. "But now I think he's just always been this way."

"I think it's just us," Jim tried to answer the riddle helpfully, leaning back on his arms to watch his best friend across the room. "Or, well, it was just me. Now it's us." He watched his granddaughter, wincing at the thought of her being that, trying to figure her out. He had never thought he'd even have kids, let alone get to the grandparent stage. "So, the future…"

"I don't know if I can tell you anything like that," she answered quickly, turning slightly to look at him. "I mean, I could, but Ambassador Spock would be fairly annoyed with me, I'd imagine. Something about destinies, more than likely."

Jim rolled his eyes at that, huffing out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah. I got that from him already."

"So logically, Captain, you know not to bother your granddaughter for more information," Spock spoke up finally, causing both Bryn and Jim to turn to where he was off to their left. "The timelines have altered enough already, judging from what Ambassador Spock has claimed, that many events she knows of may never even occur here."

"It can't be that different, can it?" Bryn asked, her eyes firmly locked on Spock. If anyone had a good idea, it would be him, and she knew to listen to him. She had trusted him in her timeline, so she figured she could here. "And where is Ambassador Spock?"

"On New Vulcan," Jim answered for Spock, shooting a wink as the Vulcan gave him a glance that he knew meant he was annoyed that the spotlight had been removed from him.

Bryn's confusion was clear on her face, in the way her features scrunched up as she turned to give Jim an incredulous look. "_New _Vulcan? What do you mean "new"?"

"My point exactly, Captain," if Spock was smug, it definitely showing then. "The timelines began changing when the Romulan ship Narada arrived shortly before your birth. The destruction of Vulcan further severed the similarities in the two timelines."

"_Destruction_ of Vulcan?" Bryn's voice held every amount of the surprise it should've. "You're kidd-… Vulcan was destroyed?"

Spock's face tightened at the memory, but as an account to his incredible control, he showed no more emotion than that. "Yes. The Romulan Nero created a black hole event at the core of the planet."

"I-..." Bryn seemed completely stalled at that revelation, the carefree facial expression she had been wearing replaced by one of mild grief: the first instance in which Jim decided she may be more like him than he originally figured. He was pretty fond of hiding his emotions behind masks too. "I grieve with thee." She locked eyes with Spock, trying to portray some sort of sympathy to him, but didn't offer him the typical salute that would go with the gesture. He was shocked at her words, she knew, but it was the only thing she knew to offer. She knew that just saying sorry wasn't enough to make up for the loss of an entire planet, but she didn't feel right doing much else. "I was raised on Vulcan," she added as a sidenote, watching as Spock's eyes became slightly more interested. "Well, for a few years, anyway. More on Vulcan than Earth."

"Oh-kay," McCoy's gruff, southern voice broke through the tension that had been growing, making his way back over to the trio. "Enough of that. So, congrats, Jim, you're the father."

Jim gave his friend a blank look, trying to figure out the best comeback for that. He really had no idea.

Bryn was sniggering by now, shaking her head. "You just go straight for the kill-shots, don't you?"

"Oh, sweetheart, this is the first time he's not had a comeback in months," McCoy was grinning as he crossed his arms, staring at Jim expectantly. "This is a good moment. Jim Kirk, silent. It's a beautiful noise."

"But now that we have this all settled, can I speak to Ambassador Spock? Is there a way to open a comm link with him?" Bryn was back to her original intent, her eyes on Jim. He'd be the one who made the decision if she could or not, after all.

"Yeah, let's go see if Uhura can open a line," Jim jumped off the bed, more than willing to get away from the already gloating Bones.

Jim led Bryn through the hall to the turbolift, more than willing to point out any part of the ship and rattle on about it to her. He was very proud of his ship. Spock and McCoy just walked along behind the two, sharing glances every once in a while. They were both surprised that the sudden appearance of yet another time traveler hadn't gone wrong in any way, shape, or form. It would be the first time they'd gone on a mission and not had something bad come from it. They only hoped it would stay that way.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: _Okay, some after some sloppy finagling on my end, the story has been updated in the same location as it was. No need for a new post. So... I highly recommend going back and re-reading it. Since I changed a lot. Well, I changed enough. And yes, this is the newest installment. I've confused myself too, don't worry._**

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"Keptin on ze bridge!" was the first thing Bryn heard when emerging from an old-styled turbolift with her grandfather, CMO McCoy, and XO Spock. The accent of the voice announcing the return of James Kirk was familiar to her, and when she found the owner of it, with adorably springy curls, she couldn't help the grin on her face. Pavel Chekhov, ensign. Not Admiral Chekhov. He couldn't have been more than 20 years old.

"Stop ogling my crew," Jim murmured from beside her, gently nudging her in the ribs to get her to follow him towards Uhura. Sure, he found it to be interesting to have someone from his future with him, but he still wasn't too sure of her. It was why he wanted her with him. More than likely, if she was intelligent, she'd know how to get out of his brig. The only way to really keep an eye on her was to stay with her.

"I'm not ogling, I'm observing," she bit back, rolling her eyes at him as she followed him. "He's like, ancient where… when, I'm from. Excuse me for wanting to make sure I have something to hold over him when I get back. Because really, those curls are ridiculously bouncy. He has to use some sort of product."

Jim paused slightly to glance towards Chekhov, noting that he and the a large portion of bridge crew were staring at himself and his strangely clothed guest. "Okay… yeah, maybe," he acquiesced, realizing that maybe Chekhov's curls had a bit of extra help to keep their shape. "Do I have something on my face?" he asked the crew louder than the quiet conversation he had been having with Bryn, raising an eyebrow inquisitively as he received a chorus of 'no, sir's as everyone turned back to their stations.

Everyone but Nyota Uhura, of course, who was watching the small group (because Bones and Spock wouldn't leave them alone, of course) approach her. "Captain," she greeted him gracefully with a nod, glancing over Bryn at his side, taking in her appearance much more thoroughly than Bryn was comfortable with.

Jim responded to her greeting with a large, flirtatious grin, leaning on the panel beside of her. "Uhura, you think it's possible to set up a comm-link with New Vulcan from here?"

"Considering we're less than two solar systems away from them, sir," she replied, the sarcasm rolling off of her tongue as easily as any language she knew, "It should be relatively simple. Even a country hick like you could do it."

"You wound me, truly," was Jim's retort, clasping a hand over the left side of his chest in a show of dramatics. "Just work on getting the link through to Ambassador Spock, flag it important, and patch it through my ready-room."

At Uhura's nod to his orders, Jim led the small group with him to his ready-room, plopping himself down into his seat at the head of a long table and propping his feet up. "So, what do you think of my beautiful girl?" he asked Bryn, his arms motioning out beside of him to indicate that he meant the ship, a wide smile in place. It was obvious to her that he was definitely proud of his ship.

"Well…" she demurred, moving around the room to gaze at each little piece of technology she could find. She could feel three sets of eyes on her as she moved, knowing that they were each probably ready in their own ways to take her down if she did anything suspicious. "She's a bit old-tech, but she's got a certain charm to her," Bryn finally decided with a smile, raising an eyebrow as Jim's own smile faded. "I'm fresh from the year 2400. Of course this is going to be a bit old school to me. Actually, what year is it, anyway?"

"It's 2260," McCoy offered when neither Jim nor Spock seemed willing to offer it, not seeing an issue in telling the girl what year it was. It was just polite.

"One hundred and forty years exactly, then," she calculated, whistling lowly at that. "I won't even be born for another 110 years. That's some freaky time-travel stuff."

"Wait, you're older than me?" Jim asked indignantly as he did the math in his head, as at the same time Spock said: "Your simply being here could alter this timeline even further from its intended course."

Bryn looked at them both with a carefully raised eyebrow, wondering if they often spoke over each other like that. If McCoy's eyeroll was anything to go by, then the answer was probably yes. Thankfully, she was saved from having to answer by the alert that signaled an incoming transmission. She moved to stand behind Jim as he accepted the transmission, the screen before them coming to life, a hazy image clearing to show the face of a much older Vulcan than the one to her left.

"Ambassador Spock," Jim began speaking, as it was his place to state the reason for their unwarranted call, but the elderly Vulcan's eyes weren't watching him so much as the woman beside him.

"Brynnigan Kirk," Ambassador Spock spoke softly, fondly, as he offered the semi-smile he had always used when she was the subject of his attention. "Yours is a face I had not thought to see again."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged her response, though a smile was tilting her lips upwards as she took in the man on the vidscreen. "You can't get rid of me that easily. Didn't you know that?"

"Indeed I was aware of this fact," Ambassador Spock replied, his amusement evident in his light tone. "It appears to be but one of the qualities you share with Jim."

Jim, as his name was mentioned, leaned forward to gain the attention of the two individuals who seemed to have forgotten they had an audience. An audience who was watching them very intently, each with their own individual thoughts as to what they were witnessing. "So what she says is true, then?" he asked Ambassador Spock, his ever-bright blue eyes watching the Vulcan attentively. "She's really my great-great granddaughter on a mission from the future to find your sorry ass?"

One of his delicate, graying eyebrows raised at Jim's words, an obvious admonishment for his choice of language. "She is truly your great-great granddaughter, my friend. Although I am unsure as to why she is here, in this timeline, this universe."

"To do what he said, basically," Bryn added unhelpfully, smirking as the elderly Vulcan leveled a long suffering gaze upon her. "Or, if you'd rather it in more succinct terms: I can make a black hole to get us back exactly where I came here from, which is a little while after you disappeared. And if you want a scientific report on the matter? Well, good luck. I'm not writing it. You can ask Surev to do it once we're back."

"And how, exactly, did you get through said black hole?" Ambassador Spock asked matter-of-factly, watching her expectantly.

"I… well, I sort of just… jumped? in it," she admitted hesitantly, already grimacing as the Vulcan eyebrow-of-doom began to raise again. "To be fair, sir, it was the best course of action at the time, and I only had one shot to do it." The more explanation she went into, the bigger her grimace became and the higher his eyebrow went. It had been a stupid, reckless, not well thought out move. She knew that when she made the decision to jump in.

"Your continued luck notwithstanding," the Ambassador began lightly, entirely unsure of how to actually admonish her actions, considering he had a feeling she had slightly more personal reasons to jump into a black hole, "I fail to see how I will survive "jumping" into a black hole. You are young, healthy, and daring enough to undertake such a thing. I am but an old Vulcan on his last legs. It would appear, _ko-fu_, that you did not properly allow time to consider such things before acting. Have you not learned against such impulsiveness?"

To say the three other men in the room were confused would be an understatement. Jim had been looking back and forth between the Ambassador and Bryn, his brows furrowed as they spoke. The elderly Vulcan spoke to her almost in a way that he had heard Bones speaking to Joanna before. Lightly scolding, as if he knew he should probably be more upset with her for doing something reckless or for lying, but unable to actually go through with it. It was… fatherly. A word he had never applied to Spock before.

Spock, the younger, had been utterly confused by his older counterpart's words and mannerisms, as usual. It was always a surprise when he saw himself being so… human. Even though he had felt himself becoming much closer to Jim, and several others of the crew, he had never once felt himself to be so… emotional. But the answer to his counterpart's confusing actions, perhaps, was revealed when he spoke to her as _ko-fu._ A Vulcan word, meaning daughter. Had Bryn Kirk not already mentioned she had been raised on Vulcan, he would have found the usage of the word to be completely misplaced; however, as she had… well, then it helped slot another piece of the puzzle into place for him. His counterpart had raised this female Kirk, at one point. That was both discomforting and made him feel warm at the same time. An all around illogical feeling.

Leonard McCoy's thoughts, however, were mostly on the fact that he was a doctor, damn it, and all of this time-travel paradox bullshit was really getting old. Sure, the Kirk girl and the old Spock could have some sort of relationship from their time. And damned if old Spock wasn't good at putting her in her place, too. He'd have to remember that technique for the next time Jim started being a brat. But all he really wanted to know was if this crazy time-travel fiasco was going to end up with someone trying to blow up the Earth or not. Because that would really just ruin his day.

Bryn was momentarily quieted by his words, his silent reprimand, eyes casting off to the side before turning back to him even more fiery than before. "I stand by my actions, a'nirih. My decision to jump into the black hole I created was for more than just my own selfish gain. There are several things I need to speak to you about, but none among them are of sort that I can do without risking revealing information to those who should not hear it." Her eyes glanced to the side, where she knew her grandfather was watching her and probably silently having a fit over not being able to know something. And she knew the younger Spock, behind her, would also be having a much more stoic, emotionally repressed fit of his own.

"Then I shall request your presence here, as soon as possible," Ambassador Spock's attention turned from her to Jim, leveling him with an even stare. "Captain Kirk, would you be able to deter to New Vulcan to drop off Captain Kirk?"

"Now if that ain't confusing to hear, I don't know what is," McCoy muttered in the background, causing both Kirks to smile just slightly.

"I could see about the feasibility of it, yes," Jim responded in kind, though he didn't necessarily like the idea that he was being left out of the loop of something. Something that felt pretty big. "Although I can make no promises. We do have important Federation stuff to do, you know."

The older Spock's eyes showed that he truly did understand that, a small smile gracing his lips as he nodded his acceptance of Jim's decision. "Yes, I am aware that you have "important stuff" that you have to attend to, Jim. However, if you could expedite said "stuff", I would be much obliged."

Jim couldn't help but to chuckle at hearing the Ambassador repeating his words, shaking his head in his amusement. It was always such a delightful difference between this old man and his first officer. He really couldn't wait for the day that his Spock loosened up so much. Then again, in the years after the Nero catastrophe and consequently the one with Khan, he had to admit that they were a lot closer than he'd have ever imagined. "I'll do my best. Kirk out."

He ended the transmission and turned to the woman who was now standing awkwardly by him, crossing his arms and looking at her with a raised brow. "So what exactly is so important that we mere mortals can't be told about it?"

Bryn's dark eyes locked onto his blue ones, and he could tell she was seriously considering what all she could say. "Well…" she began, only to pause and reconsider. "I really, honestly shouldn't say. There would probably be huge ramifications if I did. Just… trust me. It's huge. Huge as in the entire galaxy is sort of hanging on me not fucking this up."


End file.
